Outreach

Student Support Programs and Community Service

Whether you’re a student wanting to participate in community service projects or a parent wanting to offer help to an M-A student or family, opportunities abound! PTA supported Outreach Programs include the Computer Donation Program, Outreach Holiday Gift Drive, Project Backpack, Canned Food Drive, ELD Tutoring and Gift Card Donations. Details on each program can be found below.

Computer Donation Program

Do you or your company have an old computer (working or not), monitor, printer or computer parts that you don’t need anymore? The M-A PTA refurbishes old computer equipment for students who do not have access to a computer at home. Since the program started in 1999, over 5,000 computers have been supplied to hard-working, deserving M-A students.

All information is securely erased from the hard drives before loading new software and distributing computers.

Outreach Holiday Gift Drive

The PTA supports the annual Holiday Gift Drive, sponsored by the Outreach Club, with partial financial backing and organizational help. In recent years, the program has provided 60-70 M-A families with gifts during the holiday season. Outreach, along with other M-A clubs, school departments, teachers and parents, adopt specific families. Gifts are purchased, wrapped and personally delivered to recipients based on a wish list that they provide. For more information, contact magiftdrive @ seq.org or view online.

Outreach Club’s Project Backpack

In its 18th year in 2015-16, Project Backpack is a community service program designed to allow M-A students to interact with and assist the homeless on the streets of San Francisco. Each year M-A’s Outreach collects donations of backpacks or small duffel bags and fills them with gently used scarves, gloves, hats, and warm clothes, as well as new toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, shampoos and other toiletries or health supplies.

Students distribute the packs in the Tenderloin district. They also provide cookies, hot chocolate and a list of resources in the area that provide additional services to help people get off the streets. This event is the highlight of many Outreach Club members’ service careers in high school.

Canned Food Drive

The Canned Food Drive is held in November and December and is organized by the Leadership Students. M-A students and staff collect money and non-perishable food in an effort to feed 400-500 M-A families and others in the community. The food drive kicks off in November when students start ‘canning’ – collecting non-perishable foods outside of local grocery stores. M-A families also send in donations to school. The money that is donated is used to purchase perishable items.

In December, recipient families receive at least two weeks’ worth of canned food, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, a large bag of rice and whole chickens.

Adult volunteers are needed on distribution day to help the students sort and pack the food into family-sized boxes.

The food drive started many years ago in Coach Parks’ garage. In 1999, the food drive was moved on campus when Mr. Fontana, the new Activity Director, involved Leadership students. Over the years, the number of cans collected has grown from 5,200 to well over 100,000.

ELD Tutoring

You can make a world of difference! Volunteer to help M-A’s English Learners.

Volunteer tutors help students who are learning English in M-A’s beginning and intermediate English Language Development (ELD) classes. Most of the students are relatively new to the U.S. and face huge challenges as they attempt to learn in a new language and new educational system. Volunteers give English learners an opportunity to practice English conversation and offer individual support on schoolwork. Familiarity with a second language is not required.

Tutors focus on reading, writing, vocabulary and conversation.

Tutors are usually assigned to one period on a block day, which makes the weekly commitment about two hours.

Tutors work with a maximum of two students under the direction of a classroom teacher.

Tutors are needed at the following times: Wednesday, 3rd period 11:15-12:55; and Thursday, 2nd period 9:40-11:20.

This is a terrific opportunity for parents to get involved in a constructive and rewarding way by working directly with students and teachers.

Donation of Gift Cards

Looking for a meaningful but easy way to help the M-A community? Donate gift cards in any amount from Safeway, Target or Walgreens. The gift cards will be given to M-A students by the Administration for stop-gap support of their basic, immediate needs.

Congratulations to M-A’s Scholars! After every semester, the PTA publishes a list of all the students who achieved academic honors. In the Spring 2015 semester, 905 freshmen, sophomores and juniors (currently sophomores, juniors and seniors) made the M-A honor roll, and 388 of them earned Principal’s Distinction, a GPA of 4.0 or higher. The members […]

Menlo-Atherton PTA

The Menlo-Atherton PTA is a dynamic organization, working in close partnership with the Menlo-Atherton High School administrators and staff. Membership is open to all parents, school administrators and staff, and members of the community.